


Home Isn't Always A Place

by Spellfire01



Series: Wendisnek's Original Stories [1]
Category: Cinnamon Roll Squad
Genre: Depression, Dyspraxia, Fluff, Gen, Harpy, Harry Potter Marathons, Interspecies Friendships, Interspecies family, Mental Health Issues, Original Characters - Freeform, Original Story - Freeform, Slice of Life, axolotl, friendship and family centric, happy endings
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-12-25
Updated: 2017-12-25
Packaged: 2019-02-17 11:38:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,751
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13076088
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Spellfire01/pseuds/Spellfire01
Summary: Sometimes it's a people.A small collection of stories written for my own Original Story, 'Cinnamon Roll Squad', that centres around a ragtag group of university students living in an extraordinary but somehow mundane universe who have made a family out of friends.





	1. Of Lost Pets and Yoga Mats

**Author's Note:**

> This is the first set of stories I've decided to post for my own series that I'm going to make into something big some day! I'm still working out the universe it's set in so although I'm posting these as a Christmas present to Sas, these stories aren't very Christmassy pffft.

Peace, calm, tranquility.

Vincent's therapist had recommended taking up meditation once again, something he had enjoyed when he was younger as an activity to help ground him in the moment and distract him from his depression and intrusive thoughts.

Don't let anyone say that he wasn't trying; he may have been skeptical about it at first, but he had been practicing it over half an hour every day for the past week now.

It wasn't much but it was doing something at least. The last time he had switched medication it hadn't gone as smoothly (if you could even call it that) without the new habit as it was now, he thought as he took in a deep breath and exhaled slowly, crossing his legs and keeping his eyes closed.

The serine music playing softly in the background from his laptop upon his bed was very close to lulling him off to sleep when the door to his shared dorm clicked open and slammed shut with an abrupt BANG, making the human jump nearly a foot in the air and completely ruining the clear-minded state he had trained himself into.

"Whatever you are about to ask the answer is, NO." In times like this it was hard to keep his voice below an aggravated shout. He didn't even need to open his eyes to know that his roommate and, as much as he loath to admit it, his best, truest friend was about to ask something as they usually did when making a grand entrance out of nowhere. It was either that or a great declaration in the name of Entomology or a what had happened on an interesting night out, which was absolutely ten times worse with the latter usually bordering on a TMI basis.

Vincent only gained a lighthearted chuckle in reply, the sound musical as sounds usually are with songbird Harpies.

"My sweet, sweet grouchypants, I was just wondering if you had seen Sir Lanceolotl anywhere?"

Vincent raised a hand to his face and pinched the bridge of his nose before dragging his palm down the side of his face in a show of exasperation, makeup miraculously staying put. "He's your pet, shouldn't you be keeping an eye on him?"

Jessie hummed in brief consideration somewhere over to his left, talons clicking against the cool wooden floor near his yoga mat. "Study subject" they corrected, "and he's allowed to roam as he pleases, he's a good boy and he gets claustrophobic in that tank of his, poor thing, I just thought he'd want to help me make dinner". 

"By 'dinner' you do mean you dancing around singing cheesy pop songs in your underwear while he sits on your shoulder and watches you burn pre-made soup, right?" Vincent deadpanned.

A light rustle of feathers sounded from Jessie's large, blue, striped wings as they opened from where they had been folded against their back and suddenly swooped closer, knocking him lightly upside the head for his jab, not enough to hurt at all, just mess up his pampered hair and bump his head forward.

Okay, Vincent deserved that he'd admit.

"Whoops! Clumsy me, Dyspraxia playing up again." Jessie said in sing-song without any hint of an apology in their voice. In fact when Vincent opened his eyes in defeat - having given up on his meditation for now to help - he was met with the view of their tall, slim, indeed underwear-clad self half hidden by the door of the wardrobe they were looking in, back into 'Searching For Beloved Pets Mode' with the whole ordeal forgotten. But of course, Jessie Bluebark being Jessie Bluebark, poked their face out from behind it with a cheeky grin.

Vincent sighed in a long suffering manner and barely held back from rolling his eyes because although that excuse was getting old, Jessie was indeed having a 'Dyspraxic Day' as they called it. They'd rolled off of their mattress, tripped over it, nearly fell onto his bed, walked into something three times this morning AND had forgotten to drink the tea they made forty-five minutes after brewing it.

As it turned out, after nearly an hour searching and Vincent sleptically eyeing the rows and rows of insect tanks that took up the widest wall of Jessie's side of their room - as well as the deadly creatures that inhabited them - Sir Lanceolotl had been playing hide-and-seek with them under Vincent's bed. It was only on the fifth check under it that Jessie had spotted the way his skin hadn't adapted quickly enough to the light and he had stayed the same dark shade as the shadowed space (but only once the mutated Axolotl had crawled out form behind a stack of books about transitioning that Vincent had borrowed from the University library).

What followed was Jessie dragging Vincent out of the cell he had made their room into for the last couple of days, and into the kitchen where the Harpy did indeed coax him into begrudgingly dancing and singing along to cheesy pop songs with them (fully clothed on Vincent's part, thank-you-very-much), pre-made soup only lightly stuck to the bottom of the pot. 

Sir Lance had even chosen to sit on his shoulder instead of his beloved owner's, the large axolotl's permanent happy smile and feathery, wiggling gills bringing a rare one of his own to Vincent's face as he fed him some of the cooling soup at the bottom of his bowl. 

Maybe the interruption hadn't been so bad after all.


	2. The Best Friend Treatment

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> 'Cause that's what friends are for.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Merry Christmas Sas!

"Vince Ed Nap Charl Tom Ben Jeff!" 

Jessie Bluebark turned around at the sound of their bedroom door opening somewhat harshly; the small, summoned human took a step into the openplan kitchen-livingroom. 

He was still in pyjamas at 2:30 in the afternoon, his mass of thick, curly, dark brown hair free of its usual half-ponytail and falling more so than normal into his face, who's expression was tiptoeing the line between mortified and betrayed. 

"If. You. Ever. Call me by my full name and shorten every part of it again this friendship is over." His tone was dead-serious and even, not that it bothered Jessie one bit.

"Ah, Vinny-" The almighty cringe from the human brought them a dose of satisfaction "there you are, I'm watching the second half of my Harry Potter marathon now that I don't have another lecture for a couple of days! The popcorn is all ready if wanna join me, also, I've made you tea!" The last part was sung in sing-song, their polished talons clinking loudly against the handles of the two steaming mugs as the Harpy picked them up and, with the bag of popcorn safely tucked under their scaled arm, they walked past the human and carefully passed Vincent's favorite mug (one that Vincent's cousin, Safa, had gotten him with a relatable pessimistic quote printed on the side) into his waiting hands.

Jessie walked to the long, slightly worn sofa and settled in front of the TV, being mindful of their tail and stretching out their large, bright, feathered wings so they wouldn't get pins and needles all the way down the extra limbs to their upper back, barely missing knocking over the lamp on the side table. 

Vincent stared into his mug and contemplated as he felt the steam rise to warm his face, the comforting smell of the drink similar to a blanket being wrapped around him.

He heard the TV switch on, waiting and ready, but he didn't really feel like crawling out of his bed today - to put it lightly - Jessie had only coaxed him out with something they knew would offend him into responding to their face.

But at the end of the day, he knew why they had called him out in the first place. He had mentioned to them about how his therapist was trying to convince him to do the opposite of what he felt like doing, apparently it would help him in the long run. So maybe surrounding himself in a different environment (even if it was just the living room) would lift his mood somewhat, though he had some doubts.

That didn't mean he wasn't going to get his own way though.

_*_*_*_*_*_

Jessie felt their smile slowly turn into a disappointed frown, shoulders and head feathers slumping in quiet defeat when they heard their bedroom door click shut again, but they really shouldn't have expected Vincent to join them if he wasn't in the mood to. 

They sighed and turned on the DVD player, movie already set from the last time they started watching the fourth film in the series for the umpteenth time but had been robbed of the chance to finish it on their last marathon. They still waited encase their best friend changed his mind last minute, but time was getting on. 

Just as they were about to press 'Play' however, they jerkily turned their head in a bird-like way to the sound of a door being opened once again. 

It was almost endearing, Jessie thought with pride swelling in their chest at the sight of Vincent, gold and cyan face paint applied, hair tied up and ready for the day in his usual getup, tea in one hand and duvet in the other, shuffling around the sofa and - carefully - plopping himself down next to them. 

He set his tea on the wooden side table next to the framed photo of their friendship group the 'Cinnamon Roll Squad' enjoying a day out by having a picnic at the local park one summer ago. He then cocooned the comfy, patterned duvet around himself and picked up his mug again, shooting an expectant look at Jessie.

"Well, are we going to do this or what?" He asked, raising his perfect eyebrows.

Jessie grinned, their head feathers perking happily as they pressed play. They shifted their right wing to wrap around their tiny human burrito and leaned over to press a peck to his temple before sitting back to watch the movie. "You're the best!"

Vincent scrubbed at his face with his palm, looking to see if they had left any of their signature blue lipstick on his chestnut skin with an unhappy pout and a complaint of "ugh, shame the same can't be said for you and your gross Harpy slobber" (not that he really meant it).

He leaned into their side anyway, clinking his mug with his best friend's before taking a sip of his drink.

**Author's Note:**

>  _Please_ comment to let me know what you think of my original characters and stories, thank you!


End file.
